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Story 13 August 2020

Alliance with the Serpent King

The biologist Ulrich Kuch has been doing intensive research on venomous snakes for years. Now, together with experts in Myanmar, he is looking for a new method to protect people around the world from bites.

News 10 August 2020

On the trail of the evolution of viruses

As part of its "Life?" initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation is supporting an international team in the research of a novel virus-like element with 1 million euros.

News 04 August 2020

Corona-update: Why we are postponing deadlines

The pandemic has a huge impact on research: Projects are delayed or even fail completely to get off the ground. New fields of research are vaguely beginning to emerge. All this calls for agile and flexible action, and the Volkswagen Foundation is gearing up for it.

Interview 30 July 2020

Behind the scenes of research culture: "Black Box Science"

Freigeist Fellow Rainer Kaufmann has the courage to leave the comfort zone – his video project "Black Box Science" gives an uncompromising view of research culture. An interview about the realities of everyday life in research and the origins of the "Black Box" project.

News 15 July 2020

Making good science even better

The Volkswagen Foundation is the only funding organization from Germany to become a member of the international "Research on Research Institute", whose ambitious mission is to optimize science cultures – worldwide.

News 08 July 2020

Next step for MOONRISE: Moon dust melted under lunar conditions

Even though the MOONRISE project has not yet arrived on the moon itself, it has now successfully completed an important step on the way there: For the first time, researchers were able to produce dense material under lunar conditions in the Einstein-Elevator in Hannover.

Stories

Foto einer einzelnen Manganknolle
Story 15 July 2026

Manganese Nodules and Microorganisms: Life Fuelled by Radioactivity?

Radioactivity is generally considered harmful to life. Yet in manganese nodules in the deep sea, microorganisms might benefit from it. Or even live off it? This is the intriguing hypothesis that geoscientist Walter Geibert hopes to prove.

Satellitenansicht der Innertropischen Konvergenzzone
Story 09 June 2026

Climate Research Using Old Ship’s Logs: the Wind Leaves no Trace on the Sea

Did a volcanic eruption in 1783 shift the tropical rain belt? Old ship’s logs could provide the answer – and also shed light on the future climate for millions of people living around the equator.

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